The invention relates to a cooled ear muff. More particularly, the invention relates to a pair of ear muffs having cooling liquid therein for cooling the head.
In cold weather, a disproportionately large amount of heat is lost through the head, in part because of the volume of blood circulating through the head and its proximity to the surface. Conversely, in hot weather, the head can quickly become overheated. In addition, the key to cooling the body lies in part with cooling the head.
In this regard, when working in hot environments, workers can be quickly overcome by the heat. Keeping the head cool, however, allow workers to endure extremely hot conditions for longer periods of time.
Several devices have been proposed to cool the head by means of a hat containing cooling apparatus. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,630,625 to Mauriell; 4,172,495 to Zebuhr; 4,484,363 to Varanese; 4,551,858 to Pasternack; 5,327,585 to Karlan; 5,469,579 to Tremblay; 5,197,292 to McPherson; 6,125,474 to Gillette; 5,940,880 to Phillips; and 4,130,902 and 4,237,558 to Mackenroth all disclose various devices for cooling the head.
A great deal of the heat circulation for the head, however, occurs within the ears. Natural heat exchangers of sorts, the ears both lose substantial heat in cold weather and generate substantial heat in hot weather. Thus, cooling the ears is a highly efficient way to cool the head.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,196 to Lin discloses a thermal earmuff that provides electric heating to the earmuff.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,583 to Bary discloses an exothermic chemically heated ear warmer. Bary, however, employs a packet of exothermic heat dispensing material that is received within a slot in the ear covering portions.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,933,086 to Gray, discloses fluid filled ear muffs. The ear muffs in Gray, however, are liquid filled to provide protection against aerotitis caused by a pressure differential on the ear drum.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,134 to Lundin discloses Earmuffs having a sealing ring that includes liquid and foam plastic layers. Lundin, however, employs the liquid in the sealing ring within a sealed chamber.
While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.